1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of bookbinding and, in particular, to a bookbinding system which utilizing a substrate having an adhesive coating, with the substrate forming the spine and front cover of the book.
2. Description of Related Art
Binding systems using a binding strip are well known as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,617. One disadvantage of the binding strip system is that specialized equipment is needed to print information on the strip. Other types of binding systems incorporate a wrap around cover which includes what will be the front cover, the back cover and the spine of the bound book. Such a binding system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,330. One disadvantage of the wrap around cover binding system is that different thicknesses of stacks of pages to be bound require different sizes of wrap around covers.
In addition, conventional binding systems capable of use with relatively inexpensive using desktop binding machines produce bound books having soft covers. In some instances, there is a need for a low cost binding system that can produce a bound book having hard covers.
The present invention overcomes the above-noted shortcomings of the prior art. The binding system in accordance with the one embodiment of the present invention includes front, rear and a spine sections, all of which can be printed using a conventional desk top ink jet. Further, a single size embodiment of the subject binding system can accommodate a relatively wide range of book thicknesses. Further, a second embodiment of the present invention permits a hardcover book to be produced using conventional desktop bookbinding machines. These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following Detailed Description of the Invention together with the drawings.